How did you come across Kris Allen and his band in their Ghostbuster & Staypuff costumes?

A: Amy Argetsinger

We have some trusty colleagues who were out doing their jobs Monday night, assessing the hurricane's effect at the hotel bar. No, seriously: The Post put up a lot of staffers at the Madison and other hotels on our block the night of the storm so that they wouldn't have to deal with a dangerous Monday night or Tuesday morning commute -- and some of them were in the Madison's lobby bar when they spottted Kris Allen, who could not have been jollier. And then, antics ensued.

As proven by her hurricane coverage. And so does Doreen Gentlzer (check out the blouse she was wearing for last night's 11 p.m. broadcast)! I think they should pair up and get their own Today hour! Whenever they co-anchor together, I feel like I won some sort of viewer prize.

A: Amy Argetsinger

I missed Doreen's blouse -- what's the story? And yes, indeed, not to play favorites, but the veterans of the NBC4 team seem to have a lot of fun. There always seems to be an inside joke going on that we're not quite let in on but are somehow benefitting from, you know? That kind of sparkle in the air.

It has been a while since we've gotten an update on Wendy's love life -- though perhaps she said it all on Monday night. (Honestly, have you watched that video? Cracks me up every time. You can see her punchline coming a mile away, but that only makes it funnier.)

My sister, who lives in Richmond and works in the OR of a hospital, called to see if I survived Sandy (I live in PA). With all the promos running for the Lincoln movie, I asked if she had seen any of the actors. She said she didn't but all the Jewish docs reported sightings of Steven Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis at synagogue. The odd thing was that Daniel Day-Lewis always attended dressed as Lincoln. Guess he didn;t want to break character.

A: Amy Argetsinger

What??? Is this true? Wikipedia tells me that Daniel Day-Lewis is Jewish (on his mom's side), and he's known for staying in character, but that's fascinating if true.

Check out YouTube for Wendy saying the storm is "pounding us from behind." My favorite moment of the entire weekend. Beats her gloom-and-doom colleague Shomari Stone essentially telling people that if you leave your house, you will die.

A: Amy Argetsinger

I saw that one -- not sure if that particular link is here, but DCist and WCP had a nice collection of Riegerana.

I know we regularly have Jim Vance appreciation time here, but I recently watched the ESPN 30-for-30 about Len Bias, and he was in it discussing what seemed to be his own past drug problems? Regardless, teh Len Bias story is so sad, but it's a testament to Jim Vance that he's been here for so long and has covered so many regional events of huge importance. No word on his show with Biden on installing sod in yards, but I think after the storm they could do a pilot with just cleaning up leaves and branches?

A: Amy Argetsinger

Indeed, not a lot of journalists with such institutional memory anymore. . . . Forgot aVance was in it, but I saw that 30-for-30 on Len Bias and was riveted by it. It's a pretty great documentary series.

So... the poster wants us to believe that DDL wouldn't break character to attend as "himself" at Temple, but *would* attend services as Abraham Lincoln (DDL does know that despite being named Abraham, Lincoln wasn't our first Jewish president, right?). Then again, maybe the poster just means DDL was seen with a beard (probably his own).

A: Amy Argetsinger

Good point. It's not like he could unhook this beard from around his ears on weekends.

I can't recall the extact quote, but Wendy Rieger saying she has learned her lesson: always pack WATERPROOF masscara if you're doing live, on-the-beach hurricane coverage! had to be one of her best lines.

I've seen people do this, but I don't think I've ever done it. It reminds me of a time in the 80s, I think it was. People would add a dash or two of salt to their draft beers. The idea was the same, that it would make it fizz a bit more. A beer columnist wrote about it and said, while that was true, the main thing it did was make the beer salty. Not recommended.

A: Roxanne Roberts

I've been told that the original version of this is peanuts in RC Cola. In any event, each to his or her own. If someone wants to ruin their beer, go for it.

Oh, there was the usual assortment of correspondents in parkas getting blown around beaches. No one else really stands out to me, but let me know if I'm forgetting anything . . . . Who here remembers the Scud Stud? That would be Arthur Kent, the handsome, leather-jacketed Persian Gulf correspondent of 1991. The Internet informs me he moved back home to Canada and has worked in media there, also dabbled in local politics.

my husband was watching letterman last night and he said kate upton was supposed to be on - but couldn't get there ...so a producer 'played' her...she just had a kid? is that true? Also he said the graphics guy couldn't make it - so they just showed the cue cards for the top 10 list.

I seem to recall a somewhat recent Washingtonian article that said she had broken up with her boyfriend. I think that's right. Or maybe it said that men were hoping she would break up with her boyfriend. I don't recall. But even in that article, the reporter made it clear that men in Washington have quite a crush on her. Apparently she's very fun (no surprise to anyone who watches her on TV.)

Do people in DC really care about whether or not he is dating Kate Upton? Wouldn't this only be relevant to the Reliable Source if she was dating Bryce Harper or "national treasure" Derek Jeter?

A: Amy Argetsinger

Oh, I think people in D.C. have a broad range of interests. Having said that, it's hard to routinely make news of which celebrities are dating which, because it's hard to tell when they are actually dating -- there's so much false rumor, and so many contrived-for-the-sake-of-the-movie relationships, and when someone really is dating, they typically try to keep it quiet. So unless you have an Eva Longoria announcing "yes, I am dating Mark Sanchez" (and later, announcing the breakup), or Ashton and Mila making out in public, it becomes a kind of useless gray area.

But back to your original question: Yes, if Kate Upton were dating Bryce Harper or even Jeter, we'd care desperately.

During pretty much every live chat nowadays, the ad that's supposed to be on the right side appears as a white "this webpage is not available" box. I don't care about that (though maybe your advertisers would). What's annoying is that the box extends over about a third of the chat text, making it unreadable. Once the chat is over, it goes back to being an ad. I'm on a slow, old government computer, so I have no doubt that's part of the problem, but one's got to assume that I'm not the only one in that situation. I'm on Google Chrome.

Jared Harris, who plays US Grant in Spielberg's film, says in the NY Times today that Lewis absolutely stayed in character as it was critical to maintaining the voice he had created for Lincoln. This led to the odd experience of the two of them sharing a ride and Lewis, as Lincoln, asking Harris about "Mad Men," which of course Lincoln could not have known about.

A: Roxanne Roberts

Actors! Amy has a theory that even the ones that seem normal are kind of crazy.

If she were dating Jeter but not if she's dating Verlander? He's younger and better looking than Jeter, and HE went to the World Series. And how about a little sympathy for Joanna Garcia Swisher (I can't believe she's 33!) who lost her job the same day her husband's team got swept.

A: Amy Argetsinger

I had to do a lot of Googling to catch up with this one! Joanna Garcia is an actress (whom I did not previously know existed) on the just-cancelled "Animal Practice," who is married to Nick Swisher of the Yankees, which lost the American League championship to Detroit on the same day. I just learned something!

What was her costume supposed to be exactly? I agree with you, that has to be the only really unflattering picture I have ever seen of her.

A: Roxanne Roberts

Unclear. I think it wasn't really anything except a way to cover up and be anonymous. It reminded me a little of the dominos worn in Venice during 18th-century carnivals, but less elegant and more creepy.

Dan Rather --- who, incidentally, turns 81 today! -- as a local TV reporter in his native Texas earned his spurs covering a hurricane that struck the Texas coastline back in the early '60s. He got noticed by CBS network honchos, and the rest is history.

is from Richmond and pitched at VCU (I think. One of those smaller VA colleges), which is why people are more interested in him than, say, Derek Jeter who has absolutely zero connection to the larger DC region. Not sure if he does any more, but he used to spend the off-season with his family and would be regularly spotted around Richmond.

and Giants fan. I encourage you to check out Angel Pagan. He's hot stuff. Lowest TV ratings in World Series history, I;'ve read. Sigh. Well, the city's all crazy today for the parade, but it IS a little rainy.

A: Roxanne Roberts

Isn't always a little rainy or foggy or chilly? And insanely expensive? Not that there's anything wrong with that...

How about Eun Yang anchoring for 8 hours straight? How do you pretend to be interested after going to the weatherman for the 50th time of the morning? Maybe she could act more like Madonna and have some wardrobe changes.

A: Roxanne Roberts

Local anchors should get extra pay for weather emergencies. Anyone who manages to keep it fresh that long deserves it.

There's a job title. Pay me $50K a year to drink about and write beer. I'll cover bourbon for an extra $20K a year too!

A: Roxanne Roberts

You think it's easy -- think of all the bad beer you'd have to drink.

Chatters -- time to turn our attention to the column and all those eager trick or treaters preparing to show up tonight. Send your tips, ideas and Halloween sightings to reliablesource@washpost.com. Have fun, stay warm and safe, and check back next week.